yesterday's enthusiast

gotosweep:

shadeddaxion:

goomba-oasis:

poison-liker:

gotosweep:

new ebbits! new site!

this is probably my favourite comic of all time jsyk

can someone explain this to me?

Sure thing! For convenience I’ll refer to the guy with his arms in his pockets as SG (shorter guy) and the one on the computer as TG (taller guy).

In the first panel, SG sees TG playing on the computer and is disappointed. SG puts a lot of value in the idea of “making things,” specifically “art,” and thinks TG is just wasting their time

So he asks them if they wouldn’t rather be “making something” instead of just playing games and listening to music, implying that TG isn’t doing anything worthwhile or creative with their time

But TG replies that “interpreting is generative,” meaning that even if they spend their time just doing fun stuff, the mere act of enjoying something is creating an experience and an interpretation. Talking about something, dancing to music or sharing a piece of art with your friends IS “making something,” and each of those can be worthwhile and artistic.

SG leaves, complaining he “can’t be an auteur of [interpretation].” Auteur is a movie term that refers to a filmmaker with artistic control and vision enough to be considered essentially the singular creator of the resulting work of art. Turns out, SG doesn’t just want to “make things,” he wants to make things he and others see as “important.” He wants to make art not for the sake of art, but for the sake of being recognized and praised for his art.

This comic really speaks to elitism within the artistic community, the idea that art needs to meet certain standards to be considered art. SG’s viewpoint is really traditionalist, that art need to be “approved” and validated in order to be considered “really art;” while TG recognizes that art can be as little as just talking about what you love.

TLDR: Art is for everyone, not just some sort of social “artistic elite.”

ooh i love the explanation

idk if im being subconsciously elitist here….but i don’t feel that the whole “everything can be interpreted as art” mindset is a healthy one to have…

i mean, if everything anyone ever did was considered as art then how do some people make a living off of it (being that this art was really that easy to create & the demands for it so easily met)?

isn’t it kind of unfair for an artist who puts time, effort, & skill into their work to be considered no better than a person who puts minimal effort into something they claimed as “art” like say…..pissing in a jar & putting it up for display?